Dawn Allegro and the Lost Key
by Suzannaheath
Summary: I was normal, I had friends, kind of. But, I always appreciated my city life in my normal house with my normal mom. Now, I find out that I'm a demigod, and that's some pretty dangerous stuff. I have to battle it out on some crazy quest for something that supposedly unlocks something else that holds incredibly great power. If I mess up, it's serious trouble for demigods...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I Almost Get Killed by a Guitarist

My name's Dawn Allegro, my mom, Grace, is Italian. But as for my dad, well, I've never met him. He found my mom, 'fell in love' with her, then ditched her pretty much as soon as he found out my mom was pregnant with me. My mom keeps telling me that that wasn't why he left, but that it was because he wasn't allowed to stay. No offense, but that's probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Anyway, this is the story of a not-so-normal girl.

...

"Dawn! Wake up sweetie," my mom whispered, shaking my body. I flipped over and covered my head with my fluffy pillow and curled up.

"Five more minutes," I mumbled.

"No honey, I'm afraid not," my mom sighed, pulling my blanket off my body. I shrieked as the cold air encased me like a cocoon in my bed. I grappled my mom for my blanket, sitting up and tackling her. Our identically waist-length blonde hair was flying out behind us, swirling in the air.

"Okay, Okay!" I squealed, releasing my mom as she rolled her blue eyes at me. That was the only different thing about us. My eyes were a soft chestnut/almond brown.

"I'll see you downstairs at the breakfast table." My mom ruffled my hair before leaving my room and closing the door behind her. I shuffled out of bed, and walked over to my wardrobe. OK, so I wasn't much of a fashion diva, but I did care about how I looked. I put on black high-waisted shorts with lots of buttons on the front, a bright sunshine yellow crop top with short sleeves and yellow converse.

...

"Hey," I greeted my mom, bounding down the stairs, and jumping off the last step and kissing my mom on the cheek. She was still in her PJ's but she had started cooking pancakes.

"Hi honey, took you long enough," my mom scolded light-heartedly, flicking my hand away from a small pile of steaming pancakes that had just come off the stove.

"Whatever, I'm going to be late," I sighed, going into the cream and yellow colored living room and grabbing my bag. I hastily stuffed my folders into my bag, slung the straps over my shoulders and went back in the kitchen to see my mom holding a small box filled with pancakes.

"Here, for on the go, since you have to catch a bus." My mom smiled weakly and I couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong, but I had to leave. I gave her a brief hug, and made my way. And as I walked to the bus stop, I still couldn't help but worry about why she had seemed so weary and apprehensive.

...

"Dawn!" Kyle yelled, limping over to me. I smiled gratefully and hugged him after doing our secret handshake. Kyle had curly soft brown hair that was constantly covered by a baseball cap, he limped because he had some weird leg muscle disorder and had to walk with crutches everywhere he went. But don't let that fool you. He's as strong as a sumo wrestler. One time, after an extra long summer where we didn't manage to see each other the whole time, he had greeted me with a bone crushing hug and even dropped his crutches. I suppose this was suspicious, but I tried not to let it bother me.

"Did we miss the bus?" I asked, taking out a pancake, splitting it in two and giving one half to Kyle.

Kyle took the pancake but shook his head. "Nah, we've got two minutes."

I nodded. "Hey, Kyle...you know, about the school trip."

Kyle visibly tensed, and I wasn't sure why. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

"Well, I don't know if I really want to go," I mumbled. "And don't worry, it's not because of you! I just, I always make something bad happen."

"It's okay," Kyle said, squeezing my shoulder. "Really. I understand."

"You do?"

"100 percent. But, the bus is here, so let's get moving." Kyle dusted some stray crumbs off his pants, helped me up and together we got on the bus.

...

"Ms Allegro, can you please pay attention!" my history teacher, Mr Turner, snapped.

I jumped. "I'm sorry, sir." Really? Was he seriously pulling that card again with me? He knew I was ADHD and dyslexic, yet he often treated me as though I was just some normal kid, without any problems and nothing to worry about.

"Stay behind after class, please," he grumbled, turning back to the board as I heard quiet snickers from the back of the room.

"She's like, so, stupid!" a voice whispered behind me. I sank lower into my seat. This day couldn't get any worse.

"Could Dawn Allegro please report to the principal's office at once, I repeat, Dawn Allegro, principal's office."

I panicked. I couldn't be in trouble again, I'd only just got to school and had the first ten minutes of my first lesson. Some more snickers followed me as I picked up my books and bag, received a sympathetic look from Kyle, and walked out the room, slamming the door behind me.

...

"Ms Allegro," the principal, Mrs Milano, said softly, shaking her head. "Before you say anything, you are most definitely not in trouble. In fact, quite the contrary."

"Um...okay?" I said uncertainly.

"Please, sit." Mrs Milano pointed to a horrible plastic snot green chair. I nodded obediently and dropped into the chair, looking up at my principal. She had soft features, a bit like a fairy, flowing golden hair and intense green eyes. She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Do you know anything about mythology?" Mrs Milano asked.

"Not really," I replied hesitantly. I wasn't sure where this was going. I mean, my principal was talking to me about mythology? Yep, there was something wrong with her.

"How about the Greeks, and what they believed in?" she queried, leaning forward on her chair.

"Again, not really." I seriously thought she was going to fall off her chair.

"Understandable, understandable," she murmured, tapping her bottom lip with her pen. "But surely you must've heard of Zeus, Athena, Poseidon etc?"

"Yeah, those names ring a bell." I nodded slowly.

"Ah, good," Mrs Milano sighed, smiling slightly, "well, those gods and goddesses are very much still alive. In fact, they are here, right now in America. Sometimes, they come down and have children with mortals. These children are called demigods, or more commonly, half-bloods."

"Okay," I said, since it was the only thing I could think of. Mrs Milano opened her mouth, about to say something, when she suddenly must've changed her mind, because she closed her mouth and shook her head. The bell rang.

"Meet me here at lunch" was all she said before shoving me out the door.

...

I had music next, and luckily (not!) we had to work in groups. My group consisted of me, Kyle, some rich snobby girl who never really showed up, and a dark mysterious guy who I didn't even know went to my school.

"Now, get on with it," Ms Love, our teacher, barked. We got into our groups, and were assigned mini practice rooms to work in. Of course, the rich snobby girl wasn't there, and Kyle had to leave halfway through for a doctor appointment about his legs.

"Who's on guitar?" I asked, picking up an acoustic guitar and holding it out.

"Nah ah!" Kyle blurted. "Remember third grade? I had to play the xylophone, and even that didn't work out."

"I'll do it," mysterious guy said, snatching the guitar and strumming a few chords. I could tell he all ready knew how to play.

"I'll sing," I offered. Mysterious guy snickered and raised his eyebrows at me.

"And I'll play the reed pipes," Kyle suggested.

"Reed pipes?" I laughed. "Kyle, are you serious?"

"Fine, recorder it is," he huffed.

...

Halfway through, Kyle picked up his stuff, gave in the lame recorder and left me and mysterious guy alone in the room. I hadn't sung yet, because Kyle would always stare at me when I sang around him, and it really put me off.

"So, Ms Musical," mysterious guy whispered, leaning back on his chair, "sing."

"Okay, fine," I said stubbornly. I coughed lightly then started humming the instrumental intro. "I walked across, an empty land. I knew the pathway like the back of my hand."

Mystery guy smirked. "Nice voice."

"Thanks," I muttered, "whatever your name is."

"Mike, my name's Mike," mystery guy Mike said, flexing his arms. "Tell me, do you know about the gods and goddesses from the Greek times?"

I gasped. "You too? Why is everybody asking me that?"

"Everybody?" Mike echoed, shooting from his chair.

"Well, only you and Mrs Milano," I explained. Mike's face darkened. He stood up, and as he did, he seemed to grow. I watched in fascination, and mostly fear, as he stood at a towering three meters, and that was with his head bent so as not to bump his head. He had long, muscled arms that held a flaming bronze sphere.

"Well, seems she figured it out," he growled, his voice shaking the floor. Guitars fell, piano keys broke.

"Figured what out?" I demanded, doing my best to seem not afraid. It didn't work.

Mike laughed deeply. "Surely you know, demigod? She figured you out, just as I did. But, I got to you first. And you will pay!" I was stunned. First of all, it seemed like he was going to kill me, second, he called me a demigod. What the hell was going on?

...

"Mike! Stop!" I screamed as a fifth bronze sphere was thrown at my head, burning off the very tips of my hair.

"No, demigod! I'm afraid not!" Mike boomed, picking up a sphere and chucking at where I had been only seconds before. Alarms were blaring outside at the sense of smoke. Screams echoed against the walls, and I could see fellow students rushing about, Ms Love barking unheard orders. I lunged for the door and yanked on the handle. No luck. Mike seemed to be a step ahead of me. The door had been jammed, somehow, and I was trapped, destined to be killed by a mysterious guitarist called Mike. Brilliant. And to think people actually looked forward to Friday.

"Stand back, Uphias!" I heard behind me. I turned round to see Mrs Milano, wearing battle armor and holding a bow and arrow, the string pulled taught as she directed the point of the arrow at Mike's heart. Or was he Uphias?

"Rose! Curse you, curse you!" Mike, I mean, Uphias yelled, as the arrow was released, and Uphias burst into a column of flame. Then he was gone, a pile of ashes left in his place. I looked over to where Mrs Milano was, but found I couldn't see her. Because she wasn't there. I looked back at the pile of ashes, my head swooning. And then I fainted.

...

I woke briefly for a few seconds to the sound of whispering, hushed urgent voices discussing an escape plan and route. I was lying on a soft linen bed, the sheets hugging my body, feather pillows supporting my aching head and neck. I was in a strange room, I wasn't sure where.

"We can't let her go, not now, she needs to rest," the first voice said.

"It's not safe, you saw what happened with Uphias," another voice hissed back. I almost recognized it, and was about to sit upright and interject, when sleep pulled me under, and I welcomed the peaceful darkness once again. I woke again, some time later, to see Mrs Milano leaning over me, spooning a warm, soft liquid into my mouth. It tasted like my mom's homemade piña colada drink (with no alcohol, obviously). I smiled slightly, and heard chuckling.

"She's awake," Mrs Milano chirped, placing a cold, damp flannel on my forehead.

"What happened?" I asked weakly, trying to sit up. But I was too drained of energy, too weak. I fell back, and Mrs Milano caught me gently, placing me back so I was lying down properly.

"Shhh, take it easy," she whispered, "you need rest." I obeyed. Quite frankly I felt as though I had just had the very life sucked out of me.

...

"What time is it?" was the first thing I said. I had woken up, drank some water, changed into sweatpants and a hoodie that were left on a chair by my bed, and gone down a set of wooden stairs to find Mrs Milano sitting in a living room next to a man in a wheelchair and...Kyle.

"Dawn!" Kyle cried, racing over to me. I pretended not to notice the deep worry in his eyes, the twitchiness of his fingers when he had been waiting.

"Hey, Kyle!" I replied, ruffling his curls under his cap.

He grinned sheepishly. "I'm so glad you're alright." He then turned serious. "I'm so sorry about what happened in music."

"Don't be." I shrugged. "It couldn't be helped."

"Ah, Ms Dawn, why, you're even brighter than your father," the man in the wheelchair commented. He and Mrs Milano laughed. The man had brown hair with wisps of gray, kind, calculating eyes and he wore a tweed jacket. He looked up at me, and his smile faltered slightly. "Does she know?"

"I'm not sure," Mrs Milano sighed, avoiding everyone's gaze by staring intently at a piece of cheese that had been left on the ground.

"Know what?" I demanded, anger swelling inside me. I was right there in the room, and they were just going ahead and talking about like I wasn't there.

"You're a demigod. Your father is a god," the man said weakly, mustering what he could of a smile. I didn't remember anything after that, except the floor rushing to my face.

...

When I came to, I was lying in the same room as before. It had creamy wallpaper, soft plush couches lining the wall, a wooden chair by the door, the bed I was lying in, a wardrobe, a dresser and a window on the left wall. Mrs Milano was standing anxiously by my side, holding another damp flannel in her hands, wringing out the water into a clear bowl. The man was sitting by her, his face grim, but Kyle was nowhere to be seen.

"I think there's been a mistake," I murmured, my eyelids fluttering open as I turned slightly to look at Mrs Milano and the man.

"No, my dear, I am afraid there has been no mistake at all," the man said apologetically. "First, before we talk too much about the wider demigod community, let me introduce myself. I, am Chiron. Activities director at Camp Half-Blood, and the official trainer of the best heroes."

"Like who?" I asked cautiously, siting up and gratefully receiving a glass of water from Mrs Milano.

"Heracles, Jason," Chiron mused, "you name him, I've possibly probably trained him-or her. I was born eons ago, before time as we know it, and I helped those heroes. Now, I still live today. I am immortal, until I am no longer needed to teach heroes, or demigods, like you."

I nodded, letting the information soak in. "So, you're saying, I'm half god?"

"Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying," Chiron agreed, smiling at me. Despite myself and my state of confusion, I smiled back.

"You'll have to come to Camp Half-Blood," Chiron continued. "It's the only safe place for Greek demigods like you. We shall leave at sunrise tomorrow, and we must make haste. Monsters are lurking at every corner."

"Like Mike!" I blurted out, forgetting to ask about the camp.

"Or, as we all know him, Uphias," Chiron muttered gravely. "Yes, monsters like that."

"But what was Mike? Like, what type of monster was he?" I fidgeted nervously with my bed sheet.

"He was a Laistrygonian giant." Chiron rubbed his eyes, and Mrs Milano led him out my room to let me get changed.

"Today," she said. "You'll be saying goodbye to your family." She closed the door, and I didn't know if she meant goodbye for a while, or forever.

...

I stuffed what few things I had (old clothes from the day at school) into my bag, hoisted it onto my back and trudged down the stairs. Mrs Milano was at a dining table with Kyle and Chiron. Fruit, eggs, bacon, bread, pastries, cereal and juice had all been set elegantly on the table. Chiron was helping himself to a plate of eggs, Kyle was munching on something silver, which was kinda strange, and Mrs Milano nibbled daintily at a piece of lightly buttered bread.

"Morning," I mumbled, sliding into a chair.

"We won't, heck we can't! Oh, good morning, Dawn," Mrs Milano chirped. I wondered what she had been talking about, but I was too tired and too hungry.

"Have something to eat, we are leaving soon so you can see your mom and spend the night there, pack anything you need and then we'll be on our way," Chiron explained. I nodded politely more interested in the sparkling apple juice fountain in front of me. I put a glass under the pouring juice, and my cup filled up, but it magically made it so that it never overflowed and the juice didn't drip down the sides.

"Dawn, can we talk?" Mrs Milano asked, placing her bread down and looking at me seriously.

"O-of course," I stammered, sitting up and nearly knocking over my glass of juice. Mrs Milano led me out of the room, through a maze of corridors and doors, until we arrived in a large room. It was quite dark, but as we entered, lights seemed to burst into life and fill the room with a warm glow. Resting against the walls were stacks of swords, spears, bows, quivers filled with arrows, and more deadly looking weapons.

"This is only the basics of what a demigod like you will need to stay alive," Mrs Milano told me. She walked over to some daggers glinting evilly in the light, picked up one with her hands and threw it at me. I dodged, just in time.

"What was that for?" I yelled.

"That's for you," she said, smirking slightly. "You had to pass the test first. That should be enough, for now anyway. Come on, it's time for you to see your mom."

...

Okay, so me and my mom have been apart before. For instance, when I went to one of the many boarding schools. But this was different. For starters, she was glad to see me alive, and second, she had seemed to know that an attack would occur.

"I'm just so glad you're home," my mom whispered, squeezing my hand. We were sitting on the stools at the breakfast bar, sipping coffee and nibbling on waffles. Mrs Milano had excused herself, saying she would rather not break the moment with her awkwardness, and left the house. Chiron and Kyle both stayed with us.

"Me too, but I, I don't want to leave," I gulped, fighting back tears.

"Oh, honey! Don't cry, please, you'll make me cry." My mom wiped my eyes with her thumb.

"Dawn, you are special, you know that." Chiron wheeled over to us. "Camp Half-Blood is the safest place for you. You have to pack soon, the day is almost over and we have to leave early tomorrow morning. Please, be quick." I ignored Chiron, until I heard the front door slam. Then I looked over to where Chiron had been, and saw Kyle grinning.

"Why are you happy?" I demanded, getting up from the stool.

Kyle jumped in alarm. "I'm sorry, Dawn. It's just, I'm happy for you."

"Why on Earth would you be happy for me?" I asked, taken aback.

"Because, I get to come with you to Camp Half-Blood."

...

"What are you talking about?" I had rushed to my room, Kyle following in my wake as I raced around my room, throwing my things in a backpack from previous school years.

"Can you please stand still for one second?" Kyle whined, stamping his foot. That's what got me. He didn't have his crutches. I turned round slowly, and stared at him intently, waiting to see what he had to say.

"I'm listening." I crossed my arms.

"Okay, well..." Kyle began to pull down his trousers.

"Kyle!" I yelled in outrage. What the hell did he think he was up to? But he didn't listen. I panicked, what would my mom think if she just walked in right now? And then I stopped, mid-thought. Kyle was standing in front of me, without legs. In place of his legs he had furry legs and instead of feet he had, well, hooves.

"Surprise," Kyle said weakly, trying to smile.

I felt my knees wobble below me, so I sat on my bed. "You're half donkey?"

"Goat! I'm half goat!" Kyle exclaimed, stamping his foot, I mean, hoof. I felt my head swimming with worries and thoughts. My mind went blank, and I fell back onto my bed.

...

"Oh, thank the gods, she's awake," my mom whispered, rushing over to me and pulling me into a hug. "You have got to stop fainting so much."

"He's a...a...a..." I stammered, sitting up and frantically searching the room for any sign of Kyle.

"Shhh, honey. I know. He's a satyr. He left, he was embarrassed." My mom stroked my hair back from my face. She handed me a drink, and I sipped it. I'd tasted it before. It was like piña colada. My mom handed me a bag, and a box full of pancakes along with apple juice.

"What?" I questioned, my voice hoarse.

"It's morning," my mom answered. "You're leaving today." The doorbell rang. I sprang out of bed, yanked the door open and found Kyle there alongside some other girl who looked about as confused as I felt. Which, by the way, was a lot.

"Dawn, meet Nicole, Nicole, meet Dawn," Kyle introduced. Nicole had brown hair, intense green eyes, and she held a dagger in her hand. She saw me staring.

"Imperial Gold, that's what the satyr says, anyway," Nicole explained, twirling the dagger in her hand. Even though she looked very confused, I couldn't help but notice a dangerous glint in her eye. By looking at her, I guessed that if you messed with her, she'd do karma's job instead.

"Um, nice," I said. She smiling half-heartedly, her innocent look returning. I couldn't help but wonder why Kyle had decided to put us together.

...

"Keep safe, and make sure they serve pancakes." My mom enclosed me in a hug. I could barely breathe, but I tried to keep it strong and not cry.

"I will, you too," I whispered.

"Did you pack everything? Have you got your toothbrush? Some clothes? What about snacks? You'll need snacks. Oh, god, did you remember the snacks?"

"Mom, really, I'm fine, everything's fine," I sighed, smiling. My mom let me go, and looked me once over before turning and running into our house, her eyes blurred with tears. I turned round to face Nicole and Kyle, who were awkwardly looking at each other.

"Are you okay?" Nicole asked gently, stepping towards me carefully and patting my shoulder.

I wiped away an escaped tear. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Dawn, it's okay to be sad about leaving your mom," Kyle insisted.

"Yeah, well, I'm fine," I snapped.

"So, are we all ready to go?" Nicole asked, looking between me and Kyle.

"Yeah, we're ready," I said, keeping my eyes on Kyle. "Ready as we'll ever be."

...

We trudged through the city of New York in an uncomfortable silence, nearly losing each other several times in the busy streets. Lucky for me, I didn't have the New York accent, so people wouldn't ever wonder why we were getting lost if we lived here. Some time passed when we came across a nearly empty Subway.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Nicole stated, rubbing her stomach. Mine rumbled in agreement.

"Sure." Kyle nodded his head enthusiastically. He opened up his bag, and cursed in Ancient Greek. Somehow, I knew what he said, it was, Curse My Unlucky Gym Shorts.

"What?" I asked. "Did you understand that?" I turned to Nicole. She nodded.

"I only have Drachma on me," Kyle explained.

"You mean," I said. Drachma, that was the currency in Ancient Greece. "Ancient Greek currency?"

"Yeah, no dollars, though," Kyle muttered. I searched through my bag and pulled out two twenty dollar bills.

"Problem solved." I grinned.

...

We walked through the door, and a little bell went off somewhere in the back of the shop. We were the only customers besides a small, old man wearing tattered police uniform. We figured it was best not to talk to him. I walked up to the counter and my eyes lingered on the lady behind the counter. She had long curly ebony hair, deep brown eyes so that they almost appeared white, and pale skin that had a slight green tint to it. I didn't know if I imagined that. She covered all her skin except her face and neck. She wore a high collared shirt, long pants, doc martens and gloves that everyone had to wear when working.

"Hi," she said brightly. "How many I help you?"

"Well, we'll take it to go, but I'll have a half size Italian bread with cheese, ham, pickles and honey mustard sauce," I said. The lady smiled again, and made my order. I looked at her name tag. Dracula. What a weird name to give someone. I didn't know if she was pranking or being serious, but I didn't bother about it. Once Nicole and Kyle had gotten their orders were paid, and were about to leave when the blinds on the windows fell down and the doors all slammed shut.

"What's going on?" Nicole yelled, grabbing me and Kyle and sticking close to us.

"I have no idea," Kyle stuttered.

"I do." We turned round, and right where the lady 'Dracula' had been, was a woman in the top half, but on the bottom half, she had two large snake trunks. "Die!" She threw a spear at me, and I was slow to move. I saw it come closer, and a scream escaped me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So, I don't even know if anyone** ** _actually_** **reads this, but I like my story idea so...another chapter. I know I should really be updating my other stories, but I finished this chapter a couple months ago and it's literally just been sitting in my files, waiting for me. So, here it is! Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review! It makes my day!**

Chapter 2: We battle it out for snickers

Nicole threw herself at me, knocking the both of us to the floor. We collided with Kyle, who tripped and fell, landing with a 'CAUTION, WET FLOOR' stand on his head. The strange snake monster hissed at us, glaring.

"Quite a feasssst," she hissed. "Demigodssss for lunch."

"How do you know?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.

"Pleassse, I hear all the gossssssip in Tartarussss," she replied. Tartarus? I didn't have time to dwell on that, because the man in the tattered clothes suddenly turned into Mike, or should I say, Uphias. Uphias roared in triumph at being back alive, and turned to glare at us. He threw another bronze sphere and it knocked Kyle into the brick wall, his head fell onto his chest, and blood trickled from the impact.

"Kyle!" I screamed, conflicted between what I should do. I grabbed Nicole's dagger and charged at Uphias, who was too caught up in his pride to notice me. I struck him in the gut, and he disappeared with a poof of smoke. The snake thing shrieked and spat venom towards me. It hit my shoulder, leaving me with searing pain and a bad burn.

"I've got this, you don't get away without revenge," Nicole shouted. She lunged at the snake, which dodged and attempted to spit on her. Nicole pulled away just in time and tackled the thing to the floor. The two of them were rolling around, struggling and fighting. Nicole had pressed her hand onto the thing's mouth to stop it from spitting, and the thing kept swiping Nicole's armed hand away. Nicole kicked the thing in the snake trunk, and since it was distracted, she was able to stab it into oblivion. I gasped slightly, trying to breathe. Kyle. I raced over to the wall, and found Kyle with a serious wound on his head. A large gash ran horizontally across the back of his head.

"Hurry, we need to get out of here," I commanded. Nicole ran to my side, helped me hoist Kyle onto our shoulders, and with one final grim look back, we left.

...

"We have to get him to the nearest hospital," Nicole instructed, placing him down on a bench in a park. He was completely unconscious, maybe even...dead. No. I wouldn't think of it that way. I couldn't think of it that way.

"Right, because nobody is going to notice his fur, hooves, and horns," I said sarcastically.

"You're right," Nicole admitted. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No, but we need to go somewhere more private," I mused. Nicole nodded, and we carried Kyle further until we'd entered a forest. It was huge, stretching back and forth for miles. We stopped by an oak tree and gently lowered Kyle by it.

"Wait a second." I ransacked his bag, finding sticky toffee looking food, and a golden liquid.

"He told me about that," Nicole said. "That's ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods."

"Good, then it might just help save his life," I muttered grimly. I popped open the bottle, and poured the drink into his open mouth. I waited. Nothing happened. Nicole stiffened.

"I'm sure it's just taking a while," I said. Nicole gave me a look that made it seem as though I was obviously convincing myself more than her.

"Let's hope so," she whispered softly, trying to look sincere. I heard a snapping of twigs.

"What was that?" My head jerked up as I looked at Nicole questioningly.

"I have no idea," Nicole replied, shaking her head. Again, the snapping of twigs. I turned quickly and saw a boy with cropped blond hair and rainbow eyes, wearing a deep blue shirt and black shorts with orange sneakers.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked defensively.

"I'm Ian, son of Iris, the goddess or rainbows. And I'm here to help you save your friend."

...

"Do we trust him?" Nicole turned to me, hands on her hips and her eyebrows furrowed. "It could be a trick. What if he's a monster?"

"And what if he isn't? What if he could save Kyle?" I countered. Nicole lowered her gaze and nodded stiffly. I looked back at Ian.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" I snapped. Ian smirked at my temper, but came forward and bent over Kyle. He began singing a lovely tune, about the sea, and open beaches with happiness at every corner.

"Are you on drugs?" Nicole asked. "Because happiness and rainbows are clear signs of drugs."

"Are you a daughter of Ares?" Ian asked lazily. This surprised Nicole.

"Who?" she asked. Ian shook his head, looked back at Kyle, and continued to sing his strange song about rainbows and happiness, or whatever it was about. I was standing a little far back from the rest, watching with amusement as Nicole and Ian argued. Nicole sauntered over to me, scowling.

"What? You don't like rainbow boy?" I teased.

Nicole rolled her eyes. "In the guys dreams. He's clearly on drugs."

"Oh come on, Nicole! Give the guy some respect, he could save Kyle."

"Or kill him." Nicole sighed, walking back to the oak. I heard her apologize to Ian, who accepted her apology. The two of them talked as Ian tried to make a new song that could help. He looked over at me and beckoned with his fingers.

"What's up?" I asked.

"We need you to sing."

...

"Okay, maybe Nicole was right about saying you were on drugs." I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?" Ian asked, frustrated. "Look, I think your voice has powers. So, if you sing this song about healing, then-"

"Wait, my voice has powers?" I repeated. Nicole seemed unfazed by this, as though she already knew. Heck, maybe she did.

"I think so. But if you don't try, we won't know. Now sing." Ian handed me a paper with some words scribbled on it in messy handwriting.

Our dearest friend, one who we care for,

Has been hurt out and by his core.

We ask you, good powers of song,

To save his life, for we've waited so long.

Watch over him, make him see again.

Show him mercy, don't let this be his end.

"It worked!" I cried in astonishment, as Kyle's head lolled to one side, then he lifted up his head and jumped up in surprise.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking at Ian. "And who's the guy with the bad fashion sense?"

"Hey," Ian protested, "my mom picked this out for me."

"And who's your mom?" Kyle asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Iris." Ian crossed his arms defiantly. Kyle stumbled to his feet and looked between me, Nicole, and Ian, fidgeting nervously. He reached into his bag and took out a can of coke, poured the liquid into a bottle, and began eating the tin.

"Um, okay," I said, confused. Kyle blushed, stuffing the remains in his pocket. "I guess we better move on."

...

Ian said he had to leave, but gave us some extra drachmas so we could 'Iris-message' him if we needed any help. Of course, Nicole scoffed at that, and claimed we would be perfectly fine on our own. Ian smirked, and left us standing in a forest in the middle of nowhere.

"Great," Kyle muttered.

"Come on guys, we've got a long walk ahead of us," I sighed. Nicole cursed silently, and we began walking through the trees. It started getting steeper, and we realized we were walking up a hill. The trees became slowly and steadily denser, and the air became thinner. And if that wasn't bad enough, it started to get darker as well.

"I don't like this," I mumbled, stopping, and causing Nicole to bump into me.

"Seriously? It's just a woods at night, no biggie," Nicole commented.

"I don't like the dark," I muttered.

Nicole sighed, instead of laughing. "Fine, we'll rest for the night. Here, this tree looks good." So we set out blankets and pillows at the base of a large tree, settling down.

"I'll take first watch," I offered. "I have my dagger." Nicole tried to argue against that, but she couldn't fight off her own sleepiness, so eventually she reluctantly gave in. Kyle hesitated, then settled down on a blanket and curled up. He was asleep within minutes. I sat a few feet in front of them, pulling my knees up and clutching my dagger tightly in my hand. How did I get here? A month ago, if this had happened, my reaction would've been completely different. We'd only been walking for a day, but I already missed my mom. I looked up at the twinkling stars, and imagined my mom in our apartment looking at the night sky, worrying. If she was, I couldn't blame her. I heard a noise, so I jumped to my feet. My dagger was firmly in my hand, my eyes open wide, taking in my surroundings. Nothing. Then a hand covered my mouth, stopping my scream.

...

"Ahhr! Gerroff!" I yelled, trying desperately to break out of this person's grip. I had heard stories of people biting hands in a scenario like this, but quite frankly, that is disgusting.

"Be quiet!" a voice hissed in my ear, sending shivers of fear down my back. I swung at the person with my dagger, hitting it. But nothing seemed to happen. Hmm, not a monster then, I guessed.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." The person let go of me, and turned me round to face him. Yes, it was a him. A very weird-looking him. He had curly blond hair, harsh brown eyes, and pale skin. I stood fazed on the spot for a moment, then shook my head to clear my thoughts. This wasn't normal, not at all. Some random stranger, that looked weird, 'capturing' me then letting me go.

"Dawn!" he said urgently, his voice filled with panic. "Dawn!"

...

I shot up like a bullet to see Nicole standing over me, her dagger in hand, and a grim look on her face. She was the person who had kept saying my name in that urgent tone.

"What? What is it?" I asked abruptly, attempting at unsheathing my dagger, but finding that it was already in my open, outstretched palm.

"Nothing, just a monster attack," Nicole replied bitterly, pointing to a tight bandage on her leg.

"What? When?" I questioned, appalled.

"You fell asleep, then a monster came," Nicole murmured, rubbing her leg. "But don't worry, we understand. You should've woken us up. You'd had longer than you should've had watching, so we get why you fell asleep." I swallowed, trying to rid myself of the guilty emotions. Nicole noticed, but pretended she didn't, and went a little way away to go put some nectar on her wound. I nodded half-heartedly, mustering a weak smile.

"Hey." Kyle limped over to me, his crutches by his side.

"Um, why have you got your disguise on? Nicole knows," I said, standing up and brushing the leaves off my jeans and straightening my yellow tunic top.

"Yeah, well, hikers come around this area occasionally," Grover answered, adjusting his cap so that it covered his horns properly. I looked around us. We were still by the tree, but it was now a lot lighter, the sunshine filtering through the canopy of leaves overhead. I smiled. Daylight was always better than night. I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt stronger and more determined.

"Right, then." I grinned, as Nicole walked over. "Let's get going again."

...

"73 bottles of pop on the wall, 73 bottles of pop. If one of those bottles should happen to fall, 72 bottles of pop on the wall," Kyle sang quietly. I was about to lose it. He'd started at 200, now he was at 72. Can you imagine how tiring that is to listen to? No, of course not, because you're probably a normal kid who decided to read the story of a demigod. Well, congrats, I envy you if that is the case.

"Kyle?" Nicole said sweetly.

Kyle turned to look at her, since he was leading. "Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay." Several hours later, we came across a pair of frightened looking teens. Or were they kids?

"Can you help us?" the girl asked bravely, visibly showing off her sword. It looked like a demigod sword. I walked towards her gently, holding out my hand.

"Of course. I'm Dawn, who are you?" I asked softly.

She shook my hand. "I'm Trisha, that over there is Henry." Trisha pointed over to the boy sitting on the ground, staring up at us timidly.

"Hi," he said tentatively, getting up and joining Trisha. Kyle and Nicole both glanced at each other before smiling and replying with a friendly 'Hello.'

"Maybe you two should come with us," Nicole offered.

"Sure, where are you headed?" Trisha replied.

"Um, that's complicated," Kyle admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ever heard of Camp Half-Blood?"

...

"What?" Henry asked keenly, suddenly taking interest in the conversation.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed. "Please, give us a moment. Kyle, we have to talk." I dragged Kyle by his shirt and let him go once we were out of earshot of Trisha and Henry.

"What was that all about?" Kyle questioned defensively, standing up.

"Why'd you mention camp to them?" I demanded, placing my hands on my hips.

"Look, they're demigods," Kyle explained. "And I know this because satyrs can smell demigods out. For satyrs, that's as easy as sniffing out a dirty sock from a pile of fresh ones."

I hesitated. "Okay, then. Let's go back." We walked back, and found Nicole handing them some water, which they gulped down gratefully with mentions of thanks. I smiled. They wouldn't harm us. If Kyle and Nicole both thought they were safe, then they must be.

"Hey, sorry, I just, um, forgot something," I lied. Trisha gave me a knowing look, then returned to drinking the water that was given to her.

"So, can we come with you?" Henry whispered.

"Of course," I replied.

...

"I'll take first watch, again," I offered. Nicole wanted to complain, when Trisha glanced over.

"I'll join you," she said. "In case one of us falls asleep, there should always be one person awake."

"Great," I mumbled. Nicole, Kyle, and Henry bid us goodnight, before retreating to the base of a tree and making themselves as comfortable as possible on the blankets. Me and Trisha decided to stand up, that way making it less likely that one of us should fall asleep. I stood facing East, and she stood facing West. She then came over to me, shaking her head.

"How do you do this?" she yawned, covering her mouth with her light brown hair, her blue eyes crinkling.

"I don't," I replied half-heartedly. "Seriously, this is only my second night. Last night, I fell asleep, and my friends got attacked."

"Oh, gods, that's bad," Trisha muttered, lowering her dagger, and gazing up at the night sky. I did too, and I remembered many nights with my mom when I was little where we'd set up a little child's tent in the back garden and spend the night in it with bowls of popcorn and candy, watching the stars fill the dark sky.

"Yeah, it is," I replied weakly.

...

"Trisha! Trisha!" I screamed, dodging a spear. Standing before me were several horrible monsters. One of those snake things, a lion of some sort, and three harpies.

"What?" she asked, her eyes bleary from sleep, which soon widened in alarm. I'd told her to try and get some sleep, and that I would wake her if there was a problem. Which, there was.

"Quick, wake up the others!" I instructed. She nodded, running over to the others and shaking them all awake. Nicole had slept with her dagger in her hand, and sprang up eagerly to face the oncoming battle. Her eyes gleamed with that dangerous glint she'd first had when she held her dagger the day I met her. Crazy to think that was only two days ago. Kyle and Henry were less prepared. Kyle threw down his crutches, reached for a spear hidden under a blanket, and fumbled around nervously, walking into trees. Henry, however, was even less prepared and just stood there frozen on the spot.

"Oooh! More demigods to eat!" one of the harpies shrieked, racing down towards Nicole, who aimed a precise slice to the head. But the harpy had expected that, and moved out of the way just in time to avoid Nicole's blade.

"Sisters, formation!" the first harpy cried. The three of them formed a V shape, rose high into the air, then turned and dived down, straight towards Nicole. I was about to rush to defend her, when a huge weight knocked me over. The lion had thrown me to the floor, as though I was a rag doll. My head ached, sending pulses of pain through my body. The lion roared, aiming to tear open my throat. I put my dagger forward, horizontally, trying to block it. But the dagger wasn't long enough, and the lion swiped at me. My arm burnt with a horrible pain. The lion lunged again, this time for my neck, and I welcomed its open mouth, its sharp rows of teeth, its menacing eyes.

...

Then it hit me. Would I really let this, this monster, beat me? With sudden energy, I pushed the lion back, causing it to topple backwards and onto it's back. It got up as quickly as it fell, but it was still enough time for me to get up, passing my dagger from hand to hand, awaiting the beast's next move. It bent its back legs, then sprang up with a large growl and opened its jaw wide. But this time, I was one step ahead. I threw my dagger right at where its heart was, and saw it crash to the ground, before disappearing into dust. In its place, a hooded cloak remained made from the skin of the lion. I turned round, and saw Trisha battling the snake thing, and Kyle was fighting one harpy as Nicole fought another.

"Wait," I mumbled. There was something wrong about this. "Weren't there...three." Then I saw it. The third harpy licking its shriveled lips high up in a tree. I couldn't figure out what it was aiming for, since it wasn't staring at me, Trisha, Kyle or Nicole. It had a pack of snickers in its claws.

"Oh no." It dawned on me so suddenly, that I had no time to react. The harpy cried with glee, dropped the snickers, and dived at the speed of a bullet at Henry, who was standing helpless and defenseless.

"Henry!" I cried. He looked over just as the harpy hit him. And then he was gone. The harpy held him in her claws, flew up and yelled to her sisters, who shrieked back, equally as gleeful. Henry stared at me with such an intense look in his young, brown eyes, that I looked away. Trisha was running through the trees after him, looking up every now and then to see where they were. Kyle and Nicole both aimed a spear each at the snake woman, which burst into smoke. Henry began calling. He was calling for Trisha, who was running desperately, yelling back. And then the harpies disappeared out of sight, up and over the mountains. Trisha stopped, her arms fell limply by her side, and she walked slowly over to us. She looked at us one by one.

"He's gone," she whispered.

...

"Here." I handed Trisha a cup of nectar. She accepted it reluctantly, taking small, careful sips from it. She kept looking up at the sky, and whenever she heard a snapping of twigs she'd jump up and look around hopefully, as if Henry would saunter in and say, "Hey, guys! That harpy thing? Just a normal real-life CGI trick of mine. Oh, do you have any snickers?" Of course, none of this actually happened.

"Is she okay?" Nicole whispered to Kyle, behind me and Trisha, some way back.

"I don't know. Who are you talking about?" Kyle murmured back.

"Both."

"I hope so." After a little while, they decided to treat the serious wounds. I had tried avoiding looking at my arm, but now I had to. I felt sick to my stomach. There was a deep rip in my arm. I also still had the burn on my shoulder, which still stung. Kyle had several scratches on his back. Nicole had a gash on her forehead, and Trisha seemed quite unharmed, (well, physically, at least) except for a few scrapes on her arms. When Kyle saw my arm, he gulped.

"We should start with Dawn," he suggested, keeping his eyes on my arm.

"No," I said sternly, "my arm will require a lot. First, the small cuts. Then we'll see what's left over."

"Fine, but if there's not enough, we're going to baby you," Nicole sighed, rubbing her temple, then winced as she touched the edge of the cut.

"Right, let's get to it." Trisha stood up, turning round to face us.

...

Once we'd put some nectar on Kyle, Nicole, and Trisha, there was enough left for me to spread a little bit on my arm, and the tiniest slither on my shoulder. After that, we trudged onwards, going further and further into the woods. We didn't stop much, only if someone needed the toilet, then we'd all turn in the opposite direction of whoever had to go. There were also food stops, but we didn't have much, so those stops were rare. Maybe once or twice a day, three if we were lucky. I ached all over from the fight, every inch of my body tingling with energy and discomfort. It was getting later, and we settled down for a quick rest. We'd decided against going to sleep at night, and thought it better to simply carry on through the dark.

"So, anyone else hungry?" Trisha asked, coming through some trees to a small clearing where me and the others had been waiting, her arms full of firewood as she plopped down beside me.

"You betcha," Kyle agreed, hugging his stomach. Nicole laughed softly, shoving Kyle's shoulder as he mock pouted. Trisha rolled her eyes at them, then dumped some of the wood onto the lightly burning flames. It was dark, and we tried to keep wide awake. But it was so hard not to fall asleep.

I tried to pay attention to what the others were saying, but my eyelids kept drooping. Kyle noticed.

"Maybe you should get some sleep," he said. I nodded, too exhausted to put up a good argument, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the ground.

...

My dreams were usually peaceful, but not tonight. I was standing in a barren wasteland, deserts stretching out all around me. Trisha, Henry, Kyle, Nicole, Chiron, Mrs Milano, my mom, and some guy with sandy blonde hair wearing shades were standing in front of me. Chiron wheeled forward, looking at me intently.

"Go! Wake up! Get out of here! Your friends don't know, but you must tell them. It's coming." He shimmered into the air. Then Kyle, Nicole, Trisha, my mom, and the sandy haired guy shimmered as well. I saw Henry standing there, his arms stiff, his expression unreadable except for the pure innocence in his eyes.

"Please, don't do this to me," I whispered. I started crying. He let a tear slip as he smiled at me.

"It's not your fault."

...

"Henry!" I screamed, sitting upright to find the others staring at me anxiously.

"Are you okay?" Nicole queried, handing me some water.

I shook my head. "I don't know. It was just a bad dream, I guess. Really!"

"Okay!" Kyle said. "We believe you. Don't worry. Anyway, we should continue." I nodded grimly. We stood up, squashed any tell-tale signs of our fire, and went up the path. It was a long twisting pathway that wound up the steep hills, going around the many trees. It was scary, I'll admit it. For starters, we were in a creepy woods, for seconds, I hated the dark.

"You know what? I don't care if Chiron told me to only use it in emergencies, this counts," Kyle announced, pulling out a paintball gun.

"Um, Kyle, that's great, but we need to keep going," Trisha said.

Kyle sighed frustratedly. "Exactly! This is our savior! This will help us get to camp!"

"It's a paintball gun," I pointed out. Kyle stamped his hoof, then pulled the trigger on the gun, sending a paintball flying up in the air. It disappeared into the darkness.

"Wait for it," Kyle advised. So we did. We stood there for five minutes, and nothing happened. No sign of help, no sign of anything at all.

"Come on," Nicole sighed. "Let's-". She was cut off by a loud thumping that shook the forest floor.

"What's that?" Trisha's eyes widened in fear. The sound grew louder and louder, the whole forest now seemed to grow with anticipation of what was making the noise. And then it suddenly stopped, coming to a very final halt. And there, standing before us, were half horse, half man creatures, armed with paintball guns and plastic golf clubs. A few of them were wearing crazy goggles, others pineapple hats with spongebob figures stuck carelessly on them.

"Dude, what up?" the guy in the front said, his cross eyed googles staring intently at his nose.

"Oh. My. Gods," Trisha whispered.

...

"Dudes, these are like drunk goggles!" another centaur exclaimed, spinning in circles.

"Hush," Kyle commanded, and the centaurs all lined up, saluting him. "Centaurs, can you take us to Camp Half-Blood quickly?"

"Oh, bro!" the guy in front said, "we're gonna see our buddy, Chiron, again!"

"Chiron? But he's, he's..." And then it hit me. Chiron was the first centaur of them all, he had trained those heroes. But, he was half horse. Then how was he in a wheelchair?

"Okay, dudes, hop on," the centaur in front sighed, holding out his hand towards me. I looked at him, wondering what he was thinking. I reluctantly grabbed his hand, and was surprised to see how strong he was. He lifted me off the ground and dumped me on his horse back. His horse skin was a soft brown, his normal skin a similar tanned color. He had blond hair, and I could only guess that he was a surfer dude. Well, surfer centaur dude. Trisha got on behind me, and Kyle and Nicole got on one, so the others could run ahead and clear the way, keeping an eye out for trouble.

"You ready?" Kyle asked us.

"Definitely," I replied, and the centaurs began galloping, cutting through the air. I smiled, now this was something to write home about.


End file.
